Who We Are – English Lyrics

• By: Hozier
• Album: Unreal Unearth: Unending

Lyrics & Translation

Embark on a lyrical journey with Hozier's "Who We Are," a song that beautifully articulates the universal quest for self-understanding. Its poetic lyrics and emotive melody offer a unique and compelling way to explore the nuances of the English language, particularly in expressing complex emotions and philosophical ideas. This song is special for its raw honesty and its connection to classic literature, making it a rich text for language learners to delve into.

[English]

You only feel it when it's lost

Gettin' through still has a cost

Quietly, it slips through your fingers, love

Falling from you, drop by drop

What I had left here

I just held it tight

So someone with your eyes

Might come in time

To hold me like water

Or Christ, hold me like a knife

We're born at night

So much of our life

Is just carvin' through the dark

To get so far

And the hardest part

Is who we are

It's who we are

You and I burned out our steam

Chasing someone else's dream

How can somethin' be so much heavier

But so much less than what it seems?

Darling, we sacrificed

We gave our time to somethin' undefined

This phantom life sharpens like an image

But it sharpens like a knife

We're born at night

So much of our life

Is just carvin' through the dark

To get so far

And the hardest part

Is who we are

It's who we are

...

You only feel it when it's lost

Gettin' through still has its cost

Quietly, it slips through your fingers, love

Fallin' from you, drop by drop

...

Key Vocabulary

Vocabulary	Meanings
lost /lɔːst/ A1	adjective - unable to find one's way or be found
cost /kɔːst/ A1	noun - the price paid for something verb - to require a payment
slip /slɪp/ A2	verb - to slide out of place or position
fall /fɔːl/ A1	verb - to move downward, typically rapidly and freely
hold /hoʊld/ A1	verb - to grasp or carry something
carve /kɑːrv/ B1	verb - to cut a shape or pattern into something
dark /dɑːrk/ A1	adjective - with little or no light
burn /bɜːrn/ A2	verb - to be damaged or destroyed by fire
steam /stiːm/ A2	noun - water vapor
chase /tʃeɪs/ A2	verb - to follow in order to catch or catch up
sacrifice /ˈsækrɪfaɪs/ B1	noun - an act of giving up something valued verb - to give up something valued
sharpen /ˈʃɑːrpen/ B1	verb - to make something sharp or more acute
phantom /ˈfæntəm/ B2	adjective - something that exists only in the mind
undefined /ˌʌndɪˈfaɪnd/ B2	adjective - not clearly defined or explained
knife /naɪf/ A1	noun - a cutting tool with a sharp blade

Key Grammar Structures

• You only feel it when it's lost

  ➔ Present simple with 'only' for emphasis

  ➔ The phrase 'You only feel it' uses the present simple tense with 'only' to emphasize the condition under which the feeling occurs.

• Gettin' through still has a cost

  ➔ Present simple with contraction

  ➔ 'Gettin' through' is a contraction of 'getting through,' commonly used in informal speech.

• Quietly, it slips through your fingers, love

  ➔ Adverb of manner at the beginning

  ➔ The adverb 'Quietly' is placed at the beginning of the sentence to emphasize the manner in which the action occurs.

• So someone with your eyes / Might come in time

  ➔ Subjunctive mood with 'might'

  ➔ The use of 'might' indicates a possibility or uncertainty, typical of the subjunctive mood.

• We're born at night

  ➔ Present continuous for a general truth

  ➔ Although 'We're born' is typically a simple past action, here it is used in the present continuous to express a general truth or recurring idea.

• And the hardest part / Is who we are

  ➔ Subject-verb inversion with 'is'

  ➔ The sentence uses subject-verb inversion with 'is' to emphasize the subject 'who we are.'